While the digital acceleration that came with Covid 19 was unprecedented, it created many new and different ways for businesses to connect with customers. E-commerce, social commerce, media investments, and these new virtual experiences that we are all becoming accustomed to are soon going to feel like “normal” as we continue to explore the many uses of technology. Recently, Francesco Rulli, Global CEO of Querlo, spoke with Jerome Hiquet, Global G-Suite Leader, about the challenges and opportunities in the postcovid era and the role of Artificial Intelligence in the future.
Jerome has been in the marketing department for about 20 years, working with brands such as Club Med, Tough Mudder, and Formula E. Currently, he advises CEOs and marketing leaders to create the next generation of performing and purpose driven business with an emphasis on strategy, marketing, commercial, and organization tactics.
Jerome began by describing four key changes that occurred during the pandemic and will continue to adapt in the future. The first is digital acceleration, with e-commerce being the most important driver of this change. Jerome noted that e-commerce has increased more in the past 8 weeks than it had in the preceding 10 years. Customer attention is another element of this change: people’s attention spans are getting shorter and they are spending even more of their time on websites such as Google, Amazon, and Facebook. The third change that Jerome mentioned was brands becoming closer to their purpose through more customer and community led initiatives. Finally, over the next 18 months, because of financial constraints, business leaders will be much more focused on short term planning and employee performance.
Looking to the future, AI will be a fascinating tool to understand and make use of data. However, Jerome noted that it is going to be the combination of AI and 5G that is going to lead to the Fourth Industrial Revolution. And the outcome will be personalization, prediction, speed, and automation. Moreover, as a business leader, it will be important to understand the needs of customers in this new augmented human relationship and how digital assistance will be useful. The only concerns that Jerome mentioned were related to data privacy and societal infereference. Overall, the widespread use of AI will change the way we have to collaborate, educate, and lead.
To reach out to Jerome, you can visit his LinkedIN profile.
